This blog is an attempt to preserve, document & share Pakistan's contemporary & traditional culinary heritage. It tells stories and shares recipes from my maternal grand mother and mother's kitchens along with my own stories and memories of growing up in Pakistan.

Sunday, 27 July 2014

Nargisi Koftay - Pakistani Style Curried Scotch Eggs

Ramzan is finally over! Phew! We are celebrating Eid in far east on Monday. Fasting in peak summer is a
real test of faith as well as of one’s endurance. My inquisitive non-Muslim friends
often ask me, how we Muslims survive the long testing hours of fasting without
food and water and soaring temperatures? I am not sure they believe me when I tell
them it’s a mix of practice and unreserving faith that makes us get through
very tough days of fasting and sleep deprivation.

Now that ramzan is over, it’s that time of the year when we
feast (read: over eat). Eid menus are planned out days ahead and tons of sweet
and savory delicacies line up the dinner tables and tea trollies. At ammi’s
house, there was a bit of set menu for Eid ul Fitar. Breakfast will always have boiled vermicelli
served with hot milk. Abbu liked having a bowl of it before heading for Eid
namaz. Dessert will be either Sheer
Khurma or a dense milky Kheer – rice pudding. Haleem is always a non-negotiable
which is prepared a day ahead of Eid. The tea trolley will be decked with
savory spicy channa chaat and some gulab jamans. All guests coming to the house
will enjoy all of these things for 2-3 days of Eid, meaning ammi will prepare
these things in large quantities. Fresh channa chaat will be made every day and
will be served with lemonade or tea.

For Eid lunch, there would be a pulao, a kofta curry for sure and
some special chicken dish of hers. I don’t remember eating nargasi koftas at
home a lot, but they were cooked only on very special occasions or for some very
special guests. I am sharing my recipe of Nargisi koftas that fits Eid
festival perfectly.

Eid Mubarak to everyone back home! Please don’t forget to include
the less fortunate ones in our festivities and especially remember nearly one
million people displaced from their homes as Pakistan fights the battle for its
survival. Let’s hope that tomorrow will
be a better day!

Ingredients for Koftay- Scotch Eggs

Minced beef – ½ kg

Chickpea lentil - Channa Daal – ½ cup – soaked overnight

Garlic 5-6 cloves

Ginger – 2 inch

Onion – 1 medium sized (chopped)

Green Chilies – 2 medium sized

Water - 1 ½ cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Eggs – 2

Dry Spices:

Whole Cloves – 8

Whole black Peppercorn – 10

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

Black Cardamom – 2

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp heaped

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp heaped

Whole dried red chilies – 3 - Round

Egg – 1 for coating

Oil – 1 cup – for deep frying

Eggs – 8 (hard boiled)

Ingredients for curry

Onions – 3 Large

Tomatoes – 2 medium sized

Ginger/Garlic paste – 1 tsp

Water – 1 cup

Oil – 6 tbsp

Dry Spices:

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp heaped - Crushed

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp heaped - Crushed

Whole black peppercorn -6

Cloves – 5

Black Cardamom – 1

Green Cardamom pods – 3

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

Yogurt – 1/3 cup

Koftay - Scotch Eggs : Make this mixture a day ahead.

Dry roast all the spices and grind them in a
spice mill.

Add minced beef, ginger, garlic, green chilies, onion,
channa lentil, ground spices, salt and water in a pan. Cook it over medium heat
for 45 mins till the water dries up and the lentil is fully cooked. Let it cool
down completely.

Add the cooked minced meat to a food processor.
Add 2 eggs, 1 medium green chili and grind everything finely. Store it in a
sealed container overnight in the fridge.

Next day: Wrap hard boiled eggs in the minced
meat.

Coat it with a lightly beaten egg and deep fry
on high heat.

Brown the koftas carefully. While frying, do not
touch them unless needed as they can crumble and break, remove on kitchen
paper.